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It was overcast when we left Ottawa this morning & remained that way all day. We left relatively early as it was a 2hr drive to Montreal and a further 3hrs to Quebec City. The drive was easy as this part of Canada is very flat. There were quite a lot of autumn colours along the road not far out of Ottawa.
As soon as we left Ontario & entered Quebec, everything became French. All the road signs became French only which made things interesting. Everyone we spoke to spoke to us in French first but switched once we spoke English. The people have all been very helpful & friendly.
Our first stop in Montreal was the St Joseph Oratory. This is a huge church that is highly visible as we approached Montreal. It is the largest church in Canada. Pilgrims go up the many steps on their knees but there were none doing that today. If you don't want to climb the stairs, there are several escalators inside taking visitors to the basilica. Brother Andre started building the church back in 1904 but by 1917 it was too small so a new church capable of seating 1000 was built. Brother Andre was said to have performed many healing miracles & there are thousands of crutches hanging in the basilica from people who were healed there.
We didn't have a lot of time in Montreal so we headed for Old Montreal. This section of the city has cobblestone streets & beautiful old buildings. It also contains the area that is considered to be the birthplace of Montreal. Some of the buildings date back to the 17th century. It is a major tourist attraction & the area is full of shops, galleries, eateries, museums & a market. We walked around for a bit, had lunch and walked around a bit more. The Notre Dame basilica is prominent but we didn't have time to go in.
We headed for Quebec about 3pm & arrived just under 3hrs later. It started to rain as we got closer & got very heavy after we checked in. The man at reception upgraded our room for us which was nice. We are now in a larger room with a lounge area. The Fairmont Frontenac is located in Old Quebec & is a massive castle on a hill. It is a National Historic Site of Canada & a World Heritage Site.
Quebec is the only walled city north of Mexico. Some of the walls are still standing. I am very keen to see as much as possible over the next couple of days.
We went down to the bar this evening & ordered mojitos only to be told once again that they had no mint. There seems to be a shortage in Canada at the moment as this is the 3rd or 4th time we have been told that. We ventured out later once the rain had eased a bit & found a restaurant for dinner. There is rain forecast for the next 2 days so hopefully it won't stop us from exploring this historic area.
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Jen Here's a quote from an article in today's Herald! "McGuire's all-cocktail unity softens a bit when talking of last decade's craze, the mojito, a drink notoriously despised for its time-consuming muddling. According to bartender lore, it's common for some to throw out the occasional lie – "Sorry, we're all out of mint" – to get out of prepping the order."